Peabody Earmarks Included In New MA State Budget

PEABODY, MA — Peabody flood mitigation, student health and publicly accessible defibrillatorswere three areas that received earmark funding in the new state budget Gov. Maura Healey signed this week.

State Rep. Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody) said in a release that Peabody is set to receive $37 million in state aid to schools and another $8.9 million in unrestricted aid to the city.

Earmarks, which Walsh sponsored, include $50,000 for flood mitigation by dredging of the upper Goldwaithe Brook, $25,000 to the Peabody Educational Foundation for mental health services in Peabody Public Schools and $23,000 toward an additional school health clinician through the Peabody Department of Public Health.

"By expanding access to mental health resources in schools, our children will have the opportunity to receive additional care and support in a setting convenient to them," Walsh said. "I am thankful to my colleague Representative (Sally) Kerans and to Senator (Joan) Lovely for her leadership in the Senate to support these important initiatives for our community.”

Initiated by Sen. Lovely and supported by Rep. Walsh in the House, the state budget also includes $95,000 in funding for the purchase and distribution of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in the city's parks.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)